The Nava Telangana Party (NTP) Saturday intensified the demand for separate statehood of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh and declared that the region, which lies on the Deccan plateau, would be a separate state. The announcement comes a day after Andhra Pradesh celebrated its 52nd formation day. NTP president T. Devender Goud announced the self rule at a meeting held at Indira Park here. The move is aimed at mounting pressure on the Congress government, which is yet to take a clear stand on the issue of a separate Telangana state. Goud set free Indian Roller (Pala pitta), which the party has decided to adopt as the Telangana state bird. The former minister, who quit Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in July this year to float the NTP, said he had to declare a separate state as the government was indifferent towards the decades old demand. After the meeting, Goud and his supporters marched towards the state secretariat and tried to replace the board of Andhra Pradesh with that of Telangana at the entrance. The police swung into action to foil their attempts. There was scuffle between policemen and the protestors. The police later arrested Goud and his supporters and shifted them to Chikkadpally police station but the NTP leader continued his protest. The NTP activists also installed Telangana state boards at four borders of the region but the police removed the boards. They staged road blockades on the borders and declared their resolve to replace the word Andhra Pradesh with Telangana on all government sign boards in the region. Goud announced that Telangana state stickers would be pasted in all the villages in the region. He appealed to people to paste the stickers on four and two wheelers. The NTP, Telanagana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other smaller parties have intensified the movement for separate Telangana as all the major parties except the Congress have declared their support to the demand in view of the ensuing elections. The NTP and TRS Friday observed "betrayal day" on the occasion of Andhra Pradesh formation-day to protest the region's merger with Andhra in 1956. The demand for separate statehood to Telangana comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad, is four decades old. The region had witnessed violent agitation in the 1970s. TRS, which was founded by K. Chandrasekhara Rao after he quit TDP in 2001, revived the movement for a separate Telangana. (IANS) | 
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